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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Liam Bryce

Ciro Immobile leads stunning Lazio recovery as they show fighting spirit ahead of Celtic clash

Lazio rescued a dramatic home draw ahead of their Europa League showdown with Celtic .

Simone Inzaghi's side visit Parkhead on Thursday night and will do so after recovering from three goals down to snatch a point against Atalanta.

A Luis Muriel double and an Alejandro Gomez strike inflicted the damage during a dismal first-half for the hosts at the Stadio Olimpico.

But two goals in two minutes mid-way through the second period sparked a frenzied final 20 minutes.

Ciro Immobile reduced the arrears from the spot before Joaquin Correa netted to set up a grandstand finish.

(ANGELO CARCONI/EPA-EFE/REX)

And it was Immobile who again struck from the spot in stoppage time to complete a remarkable fightback.

The last-gasp goal was a moment to savour in an otherwise disastrous week for the club after they were handed a partial stadium closure for Celtic's return visit to Rome in November.

The governing body took action after finding Lazio supporters guilty of racist behaviour during their previous Europa League fixture, a 2-1 win over Rennes.

The verdict sparked an ugly row between the club and its fans, with their Ultras group slamming bosses for accepting UEFA's decision.

The Curva Nord section, which houses the Ultras, will be the section closed for the upcoming clash.

Their spokesman Yuri Alviti said: "It's a farcical sentence because UEFA punish the weakest teams in these situations. Our club just accept this and once again, Lazio fans are paying the consequences.

"Against Celtic, they will have 10,000 fans in our stadium. Our players need the contribution of the Curva Nord. So UEFA have given Celtic a massive advantage.

(SIPA USA/PA Images)

"We are amazed at this punishment.

"But we see no point of further challenging this and inviting further punishment and we have decided there are other ways we can make our voices heard.

"So for our games against Atalanta and when we play Celtic in Rome, we invite every single Lazio fan to wear a scarf and wave a flag.

"Colouring the Stadio Olimpico in Lazio colours will be our response."

But the club bit back strongly and urged supporters to start behaving.

A spokesman said: "Unfortunately, the behavior of very few fans - we believe it was around 20 - risks our progress in the  Europa League.

"Because of this, we are forced to play Celtic in our own stadium without the support of the Curva Nord.

"Furthermore, if this behaviour continues at our future matches in Europe, we are at serious risk of the entire stadium being closed.

"We only escaped a full ban this time because our president's insistence on zero tolerance in the future.

"We respect our supporters' rights to have political opinions, but it makes no sense to express these in stadiums home or away, especially when it is known that UEFA are monitoring us.

"I appeal for it not to happen again in our future games because it damages Lazio."

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